My Department considers hiring external consultants in cases where there is not the necessary expertise to deliver the project in-house, in cases where an external assessment is deemed essential, or in cases where a project must be completed within a short time scale, and although the expertise or experience may be available in-house, performing the task would involve a prohibitive opportunity cost.
My Department complies with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform's guidelines for engagements of consultants by the civil service, having regard to public procurement guidelines.
My Department currently has 1 contract with the company in question for the provision of services in respect of IT support for process automation.